I came across this list while reading “The Falling Man” at Esquire. Fascinating story.
Anyhow does anyone here drink at any of these places. I promise to read each link to the bar and imagine you having a drink. So what’ll it be for you - a beer, a shot, a cocktail? What will you be wearing? Who will be with you?
I’ve been to at least six of them. All three in Colorado, many times. They are all outstanding bars - and they could not be more different from each other. Hard to choose between the Cruise Room and El Chapultepec. It depends on the night and who you’re with.
I’ve been to “Any bar on the strip” in Las Vegas, NV. Maybe most of them.
I’ve been to The Siver Dollar and Essen Haus in Madison, WI.
Unfortunately, none of them know my name. Well, maybe one in Las Vegas, but not in a good way.
Whoa, I’ve been to one, on several occasions - the Hopleaf in Chicago. It’s just a short walk from where I used to live, and it is a very nice bar. It has an enormous selection of beers.
I’ve been in both of the DC bars. Both of them are dives on Capitol Hill, and their charm is that they are dives so close to the halls of power.
The transient nature of this town keeps these places from developing regulars too much - they’re more frequently a stop on the crawl.
Dee’s in Pittsburgh is a fun place - but again, it is in an area where there are tons of bars and people tend to go from place to place.
Maybe I am getting old - I generally drink at the VFW these days.
I lived in Providence for four years and never heard of the Wild Colonial Tavern… even though I was friends with one of the Brown trivia team members (they went to the pub quiz at Trinity Brewhouse, not the Wild Colonial Tavern).
I’ve been to all the Chicago ones. Violet Hour is incredible for mixed drinks and Hopleaf is a longtime favorite place.
I used to work in an office building next door to the Oxford Hotel, which houses the Cruise Room. They knew my name in the Cruise Room then, and they knew what I drank (either gin/tonic or vodka/tonic). Sadly, no more.
Been to all of the ones listed for Alabama, but it’s kind of a crime that the Flora-Bama isn’t on there.
I used to be a regular at the Tune Inn in DC. For many years, in fact. But I moved to a new neighborhood and don’t get there as often anymore.
But the Hawk and Dove is a crapshack. It doesn’t deserve to be on the list.
San Francisco -
Zeitgeist and Toronado - At either one I’ll be wearing jeans with boots and some kind of light shirt with a sweatshirt, the sweatshirt (and sunglasses now that I think about it) being on or off depending on weather and time.
At Zeitgeist I’ll be drinking either a Racer 5 or a Bloody Mary, and, depending on time of day and/or luck, eating a tamale from the Tamale Lady. We’ll be out back at one of the picnic tables.
At Toronado I’ll be drinking…well, a lot of BEER. Something by Russian River (Pliny, Blind Pig), something by Anchor, a lambic, and anything else that might sound intriguing or I might not have ever tried before.
At both places I will almost definitely be with Demo, Troy McClure SF, thesquirrelfish, zyzzyva, and a few other friends. They don’t know my name at either, but it is likely they know Troy’s.
And Vesuvio - I might be a little more dressed up if we’re cruising around North Beach. Maybe jeans with boots and a dressier shirt and jacket. I might be drinking a glass of red wine, or maybe a single malt whiskey, or perhaps a cocktail of some sort, but I’ll most likely finish off there with a Bohemian Coffee.
Here I’ll be with Demo, and most likely Sassy and her guy, and possibly some of our friends or family out visiting us, as that’s often when we end up in North Beach. They won’t know my name, but they might know Sassy’s.
Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon, California. We (Captain Crankypants and I) normally sail in to the dock looking like the grotty charter boat crew that we are. And yes, they know me there.
I occassionally went to Sam Bond’s Garage, at least as often as I went out at all in Eugene.
Rats, I’m close but not quite for name-knowing at a few on the New York list:
PJ Clarke’s: They know my DAD’S name, this was his local bar when he lived in NYC. He had taken me there a few times, but more when I was a kid and we were going for the burgers, as opposed to an adult going to a bar. We have been back a few times since, and they still know his name and it’s been YEARS since he was a regular. Personally, I think it’s a little touristy, kind of, because it’s always on lists of “10 Great Bars in NYC.” Great burgers though, and there is still a kernel of a neighborhood crowd. (What I’m wearing: uh, I’m a little kid and it’s the early 80s, so a corduroy skirt and a yoke sweater, and pink barrettes)
Minetta Tavern: They know my BOSS’S name. This is currently closed, hopefully for minor renovations but we shall see when it reopens. This is around the corner from my office. You know how you might have a bar that you always go to with coworkers after work? This is not that bar for me, this is the bar that I go to with coworkers when I need to vent/talk/gossip about something work-related and don’t want to risk being overheard at the bar where we usually go. (What I’m wearing: office attire)
Freddy’s Bar and Backroom: They know my BEST FRIEND’S name. I posted about this bar in a thread a few years ago about “best bathroom graffiti” or something along those lines – in the ladies’ room, someone drew that Revolutionary War snake around the toilet seat and it says “Don’t Pee On Me.” This is my friend’s neighborhood bar, and I lived one neighborhood over so I had a different one (Frank’s, which often gets a lot of similar hype). (what I’m wearing: comfortable weekend clothes, maybe a jean skirt and soft cardigan sweater.)
Less frequently, I’ve also been to the Brooklyn Inn (full of hipsters), Grassroots Tavern (I think we had a Dopefest there), Julius, 21, and the Bohemian Hall (which I would go to more often except that it’s in Queens). During college we went to the predecessor of the Rose Bar in the Gramercy Hotel, it was excellent back then – cheap and with a piano player and Chex Mix on the tables.
I’m a little disappointed that all the New York bars are in New York City.
I don’t think the bartenders at Vesuvio know me, but some of the regulars will. The same would be true across the street at Tosca. I know Zeitgeist and Toronado, but I’m not in their target group (too old and not a beer drinker.) Bourbon & Branch is on my list to see, but I’m advised it requires reservations - it’s set up like a speakeasy.
I’ve been to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop and Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub in New Orleans. Fritzel’s has the best schnapps ever, but the bartender has to like you before he’ll bring it out.
I’ve been to both the ones in Madison several times, and also the Hawk and Dove in DC when I used to live there. None of them know my name.
But at my breakfast place here in Madison, all the regulars know me. They will even bring me part of my food order before I open my mouth to place it.
The Coffee Pot? One of the Best Bars in America? The Coffee Pot?!
For your reference, this is the Coffee Pot. It’s basically a historied local dive that’s managed to climb above its humble roots…by about half a step, anyway. It features shitty beer, cheap booze, local bands and karaoke. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice place for a night out getting plowed and butchering Johnny Cash, but “Best Bars In America” material it ain’t.
Ah, well, if it’s enough to grab my hometown Virginia’s only entry on the list, then congrats to the Coffee Pot. Think I’ll run by there tonight and toast it with its own fine spirits.
I go to Three Needs in Burlington Vermont on occasion, but of the three brewpubs in Burlington it’s the one where they don’t know me. Their beer is quite good, but it’s just a bit small and crowded for my tastes.
I used to go a fair amount as a student for ‘Duff Hour,’ where the Simpsons were on from 4-5 every weekday, and they’d have Sierra Nevada on tap for $1 until the keg got kicked.
The Wild Colonial is on there?! Huh. It’s on South Water Street, that’s where we have the monthly Drinking Liberally get togethers. Didn’t know it had pub trivia either, but I don’t make it downtown often. (Fox Point/East Side here.)
Oh hey I’ve been to Zeitgeist too, with oldscratch, nonetheless!
They know my brother’s name at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland. Not because he drinks there a lot but because he’s into the Cleveland music scene and it’s a great place to see bands.
I used to hang out with a chick who was well-known around the bars in Chapel Hill, NC but apparently none of those are good enough for Esquire 
